Evolution : popular lectures before the Brooklyn Ethical Association.

Date:
1893
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Evolution : popular lectures before the Brooklyn Ethical Association. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    and which can only proceed from the exercise of individual spontaneity and freedom. This principle has been misapplied in one important par- ticular, as it seems to me. Mr. Spencer’s views of the lim- itation of the functions of government lead him to the notion that the State should have nothing to do with education, which, he thinks, should be accomplished entirely by private agency. Schools maintained by the public, and regulated by governmental administration, should be done away with. The fundamental mistake here is an error of omission. Those who hold these ideas fail to perceive that education is necessary as a measure of security. Though they may see that the root of all evil lies in the character of men, they do not appreciate that mere negative prohibition is not enough to secure that free and full development of in- dividuals upon which they lay so much stress. There must be placed over human beings, in early life, such a discipline of the will and of the intellect as to develop the social in opposition to the selfish disposition. This is by far the most certain means of preserving the peace. And if the ideal of the perfect State be a community where there is little or no government, such an ideal can only be realized by the creation of a predominantly altruistic character in individuals. How, then, are we justified in saying, when •we allow that government exists for the purpose of secur- ing people in their freedom, that we ought to neglect those means which are evidently the most efficient for the desired •end ? For security’s sake, therefore, the State ought to have a care for education, and maintain a system of public instruction and discipline. There is little to find fault with in Mr. Spencer’s notions of the general course which education ought to take. He asks the question, What knowledge is of most worth ? and answers it according to a broad view of utilities. Those things which are directly necessary to self-preservation come first: then those indirectly ministering to this end, and to the full development of human nature. Physical, intellect- ual and moral education all have their place in proper pro- portions. The treatise on “ Education ” probably has been more widely read than any other of Mr. Spencer’s writings, and it is likely to be regarded as a classic on that subject for a long time to come. It subordinates the aesthetic to